Does writing ruin the pleasure of reading?

[rimturse]

Forgot to put this in my previous post.

At the moment I'm reading a book of one of my favourite authors. I've saved it for a long time, it has been maturing on my bookshelf like a fine wine. I start reading and all is well, then I notice a paragraph where the same expression has been used twice. A little later the same thing happens. Then halfway into the book I discover *gasp* a POV SHIFT! Right there in the middle of the page! AND a few sentences later it switches back! HORROR!

Now, I'm wondering if this author has always written with these small blunders and if it's only now that I'm stumbling over them because of my extensive workshop exposure? Or has the author become lazy with his writing now that he has become well known?

It is with some sadness that I realize that I have become a more critical reader; it takes a lot more to impress me - and a lot less to yank me out of a story. :(

Comments

[pkhardy.livejournal.com]

Now, I'm wondering if this author has always written with these small blunders . . .

Keep in mind that they're only blunders if they're done poorly. Which it sounds like the repetitiveness might be, but if the POV swaps worked in every other way, and you only noticed because you've become highly sensitized to such things, then it's not a blunder.

I'm just saying. ;-)

[iagor.livejournal.com]

I broke Cerise-Arador scene in two because I needed to change pov. I've got a batch of reviews that point to it and fuss, "Why did you break the scene right here? What in the world?"

[frigg.livejournal.com]

I see what you mean. :)

Of course now I had to find the scene again to see which of the two it was: An overly sensitive reader or a blunder...lol

Actually, it was a bit of both. The whole chapter is in one character's POV, let's call him Peter. 7 pages into the chapter Peter meets with Harry. They talk a bit. Line break:

Harry looked down at the dog. It had stretched out in front of the stove...(insert long description of the dog)...something that Peter could wish for himself.

So the first line, switched me into what I thought was Harry's POV (which didn't really disturb me)...but then the last sentence made me realize that we'd been in Peter's POV all along, well that is now I realize it. Before I put it down as POV shifts. So I'm probably very sensitive, but it is also clumsy writing IMO.